My dreams can simulate the future.

Chapter 1 The Future in Dreams

In the southern part of the Manglin Continent's cultivation world, the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range is a vast green ocean formed by countless plants. Only one small mountain range, about a hundred miles long, is entirely black and barren.

This mountain range is called Black Rock Mountain, and it runs from north to south.

At the eastern foot of Blackrock Mountain lies a small town about two miles square, called Blackrock Mountain Market, a gathering place for cultivators.

In a small courtyard in the southwest of the market, a young man with disheveled hair and a full beard was hunched over a desk, writing and drawing.

The young man's name was Jiang Chen, and he was an ordinary rogue cultivator in the Black Stone Mountain Market.

Crackling sound~~

A flash of light appeared on the desk, and then the paper burst into flames.

The young man was startled and quickly withdrew his brush, throwing the burning paper into a basin of water beside him.

After the fire was extinguished, he looked at the brush in his hand and couldn't help but sigh.

"Failed again. This Fire Rain Talisman is really hard to draw!"

The talisman attempt failed, and even the talisman brush was damaged. I'll have to find Old Zhang the Stingy to repair it.

After saying that, he reached for the storage bag at his waist, enveloped it with his divine sense, and wanted to take out a fasting pill to satisfy his hunger.

After some investigation, it was discovered that there was only one Bigu Pill left.

After swallowing the fasting pill, he sighed, "How can the pill be consumed so quickly? It's gone in just a few days."

He only had two spirit stones left, not even enough to repair the talisman pen.

Fortunately, I paid my taxes a few days ago, so I don't have to worry about being evicted from the market because I can't afford to pay them.

As he was racking his brains over the talisman brush, he suddenly felt dizzy and his consciousness inexplicably vanished. A wave of exhaustion washed over him, and he could barely keep his eyes open.

Since he awakened his past life memories, he has frequently experienced inexplicable loss of consciousness. It has been more than ten years now, and he has still not been able to cure it.

He cursed inwardly: "My old problem has relapsed. If it weren't for this damned problem, my spiritual sense would be much stronger than it is now, and I wouldn't be unable to draw a Fire Rain Talisman."

In my past life, I toiled away for a pittance every day. Now, reborn into the world of cultivation, I'm still toiling away for a pittance, and I've even developed the same old problem. What a waste of a lifetime!

He sighed deeply, "Since things have come to this, let's take a nap first."

He then sat cross-legged on the bed beside him and entered a meditative state.

After entering a meditative state, his spiritual consciousness not only failed to improve, but instead began to dissipate at an accelerated rate. After only a hundred breaths, he fainted due to excessive loss of spiritual consciousness.

Then, he saw an endless, dark space before him.

At the edge of this dark space, there was a nearly transparent figure that looked exactly like Jiang Chen.

In addition, there is an ancient painting. In the painting, a person is lying on a stone bed, fast asleep with their eyes closed. Beside the stone bed, a butterfly shimmers with a faint blue light, seemingly dancing gracefully.

The ancient painting appears extremely rustic, and even shows signs of damage, with many parts of the content on the edges becoming blurred.

"A dark space, and my soul. This seems to be a cultivator's sea of ​​consciousness. Isn't it only possible to see one's sea of ​​consciousness after breaking through to the fourth level of Qi Refining?"

He looked at the ancient painting in front of him: "Isn't this the handicraft I bought at the antique street stall in my previous life? How did it end up here?"

Could it be that my reincarnation into this world of cultivation is because of this ancient painting?

He reached out to touch the ancient painting, and as soon as he touched it, he felt a powerful suction force, and his entire soul was sucked into the painting.

In the blink of an eye, the person lying on the stone bed in the painting suddenly transformed into Jiang Chen.

Then, the blue butterfly actually moved and flew directly into his body.

The scene before Jiang Chen changed, and he returned to the house.

"What just happened? Was it a dream or a hallucination?"

He examined his body but found nothing unusual. After meditating cross-legged for two hours, his consciousness fully recovered.

Looking at the damaged talisman pen on his desk, he sighed, "I don't have the money to repair the talisman pen, so I can only save money by selling talisman paper."

After saying that, he got to work. He worked until evening before finally using up all the raw materials.

The next morning, Jiang Chen was awakened from his sleep by a knock on the door.

He got up and opened the courtyard gate. There stood three burly men, dressed in black uniforms, with the leader wearing a patrol badge on his waist.

Clearly, this person is a patrol guard under the official jurisdiction of the market, with the cultivation sect Golden Cauldron Sect as his backer, and he may even be an outer disciple of the Golden Cauldron Sect.

Jiang Chen was merely a rogue cultivator, so naturally he was someone they couldn't afford to offend.

He immediately bowed and said, "So you are the patrol officer. I just paid the rent and head tax a few days ago, and I have never been in arrears on a single grain of spirit sand."

The burly man leading the group had scars on his face, resembling a twisted centipede; he was clearly no pushover.

He casually took out a piece of animal skin paper, on which was a portrait of Jiang Chen and some text.

"Jiang Chen, twenty-five years old, Qi Refining Level 3, resides at No. 25, C, Southwest Ward. His unregistered skills are questionable."

Jiang Chen nodded in agreement: "What you say is correct."

The scarred, burly man smiled slightly, his scars becoming even more menacing: "The Golden Cauldron Sect has ordered that Black Stone Mountain Market recruit rogue cultivators to go to Changyuan Mountain to receive orders."

You have no skills and are also among those to be conscripted. Would you rather pay ten spirit stones to avoid conscription, or come with us to Changyuan Mountain?

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen was completely stunned.

The Golden Cauldron Sect's large-scale conscription of rogue cultivators inevitably indicates war. With my mere Qi Refining Level 3 cultivation, what difference would it make if I went to the battlefield or even die?

He could only plead reluctantly, "Sir, I'm a little short on funds."

My grandfather is Jiang Yun, a talisman master, and he's an old friend of Commander Meng. Could you please grant me a few more days? I'll definitely gather ten spirit stones.

If all else fails, I can use the spiritual items in my home as compensation. The talisman brush I used is worth twenty spirit stones.

When collecting taxes in Blackrock Mountain Market, it is permissible to use spiritual items to settle debts, but it is not a very cost-effective method.

Before the patrol guard could say anything, the one-eyed cultivator next to him sneered, "If we give everyone a few days' grace, we won't be able to do our job."

As for using spiritual items as payment, we don't have the ability to appraise them. You either need to produce ten spirit stones, or come with us.

Jiang Chen's face was full of despair. He refused to accept the debt as payment, as he simply couldn't come up with ten spirit stones right now.

The scarred guard also spoke up, "Since you can't produce spirit stones, then come with us."

Before he could finish speaking, the one-eyed cultivator grabbed Jiang Chen and dragged him toward the east gate of the market.

Just then, a thin young man came out from the west courtyard after hearing the noise.

This person's name is Hou Ming. He and Jiang Chen grew up playing together naked and had a very close relationship.

He usually sets up a stall in the market, selling a wide variety of goods, and Jiang Chen is one of his suppliers.

Ever since his grandfather Jiang Yun went out to hunt demons and never returned, Jiang Chen's life has been difficult. Hou Ming has been taking good care of him these days.

Upon seeing Jiang Chen being taken away, he immediately went to greet him.

He bowed to the scarred cultivator and said, "Sir, I am willing to help Jiang Chen gather ten spirit stones."

As the scarred guard was pondering, the one-eyed monk jumped out again.

"Why didn't you do this sooner? The adults have already given the order for Jiang Chen to go to Changyuan Mountain."

Are you trying to embarrass the patrol officer by coming out to help now?

The guard was initially tempted, but the one-eyed monk's words put him on hold.

"I've already decided to send Jiang Chen to Changyuan Mountain. Don't say anything more. You're also on the conscription list, so take care of yourself first."

Hou Ming was just a minor cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining. He was insignificant and had no power to help, so he had no choice but to hand over his ten spirit stones.

The one-eyed cultivator escorted Jiang Chen and the others to the eastern dock, and on the way, he secretly attacked them, using his magic to injure the meridians in their legs.

Jiang Chen felt soreness in both legs and couldn't muster any strength.

The one-eyed cultivator looked at him smugly: "Kid, don't blame me after you die. Blame your bad luck."

Before long, fifty people arrived at the dock outside the East Gate.

The scarred guard shouted, "We've gathered fifty men. Let's set off to escort them to Changyuan Mountain."

Upon hearing this, the numerous guards immediately set off, escorting Jiang Chen and the others onto a cargo ship, which then headed south.

The river east of Blackrock Mountain Market is called White Sand River. It originates from the depths of the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range to the south and flows north into the Golden Scale River.

The cargo ship was propelled by magical power and moved at a great speed. By midday, it had already traveled over a hundred miles.

At this point, a mountain range running east to west can be seen to the south, standing like a city wall.

This is Changyuan Mountain, where the Golden Cauldron Sect set up a fortress and stationed a large number of experts to resist the invasion of the demon race.

Blackstone Mountain Market was originally a material transfer center for Changyuan Mountain, but later it attracted a large number of independent cultivators, bringing in extremely high profits and becoming an important industry for the Golden Cauldron Sect.

Suddenly, the mountains and forests in front of Jiang Chen disappeared, leaving only darkness, with an ancient painting floating in the darkness.

At this moment, the person resting on the stone bed in the painting becomes exactly like him.

The butterfly also lost its luster and appeared ordinary.

He touched the ancient painting again, and a surge of information rushed into his mind, which he quickly sorted out.

【Dream of the Butterfly】

[Owner: Jiang Chen]

[Function: It can absorb the master's consciousness to replenish the Dream Butterfly's energy. By consuming the Dream Butterfly's energy, the master can gain the opportunity to enter a dream and simulate the future.]

Number of Dream Butterflies: 1

Second Dream Butterfly Condensation Progress: 0% (affected by divine sense strength)

【Dream Butterfly Energy: 0%】

[Number of times you can enter a dream: 0/1]

[Maximum time for simulating the future in a dream: one day (affected by the total amount of spiritual consciousness)]